Fin Keel - my favorite
Actually, this was one of the few tasks that I did not do on my own. Normally I do all my own maintenance, but I heard that the strut bearings can be a real bitch, and sometimes require a special press to get them in and out. So, I handed the job off to my local rigger/mechanic. He was the one who actually found out that the rudder would not drop out as long as the boat stood on its keel. He even tried to rock the boat forward a bit in order to lift the stern a mm or so. No such luck. He also commented that the rudder post was much longer than it needed to be (design-wise), and that we would need to try it in a cradle next time with some air under the keel. If you would like to see a photo of the set up for the boat, check out the photo forum, under Bottom Job - there are some huge photos there and they will give you an idea of what we were up against. Anyway, best of luck. Please post back and let me know what you found. If you could post a photo - that would be killer. Best Regards, Rob p.s. - you're a lucky man to have a boat in Oyster Bay. I got my BA at Stony Brook just down the Gold Coast from you - Oyster Bay and the whole North Shore is beautiful! p.p.s - If you still want the boat to stand on it's keel, I guess there's nothing stopping you from setting a large 4"X4" (or a couple banded together) under the keel, allowing it to rest on the wood.
